May 18, 2016
While Joel Embiid probably won’t be ready in time for summer league, the Sixers will still likely have a healthy No. 1 pick to unveil in early July. Just like last year, they will be making stops in both Utah and Las Vegas. Today, the schedule for the first leg of the Summer Sixers tour in Salt Lake City was released. Make your fireworks plans accordingly:
| Date | Time | Opponent |
| Monday, July 4th | 5 p.m. | Celtics |
| Tuesday, July 5th | 3 p.m. | Spurs |
| Thursday, July 7th | 7 p.m. | Jazz |
After that, the Sixers will fly to Las Vegas for the more traditional summer league experience that will take place July 8th to the 18th.
As the offseason got underway, Bryan Colangelo predicted that Sixers associate head coach Mike D’Antoni would land a head coaching position somewhere else in the NBA. The 65-year-old has a track record, and the number of proven coaching options is fairly limited after nine head coaches parted ways with their respective teams since the season ended.
D’Antoni is reportedly the front-runner in Houston, but there’s a catch: The Rockets want a suitable defensive coordinator. From the Houston Chronicle’s Johnathan Feigen:
The Rockets view D'Antoni, the 76ers associate head coach, as one of the preeminent experts in the style of fast-paced, spread offense they prefer, but will consider the staff he will assemble as a major consideration. The Rockets will look to add a coach that would run their defense, a major consideration to eventually choose D'Antoni.
As long as D’Antoni remains in Philadelphia, his prior relationship with the Colangelos will always be in the back of people’s minds whether it's fair or not, even if Brett Brown was the face of the team on lottery night.
For now, it sounds like the Seven Seconds or Less creator is close to moving to Houston to coach James Harden.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
